Synchronization of parturition in beef cattle with prostaglandin and dexamethasone

The effectiveness of dexamethasone and prostaglandin in combination for induction and synchronization of parturition in cattle was evaluated in 100 pregnant Angus, Hereford, Charolais and Simmental cows. Cows were distributed equally by breed, day of gestation and cow age to one of three treatments: 1) Control, 2) Dexamethasone (25 mg) plus prostaglandin F(2alpha) (25 mg) or 3) Dexamethasone (25 mg) plus fenprostalene (1 mg). Hormones were administered simultaneously from 275 to 283 d of gestation. Gestation length at calving for control cows differed significantly (P < 0.01) among breeds: Angus, 278.5 +/- 0.9; Hereford, 283.1 +/- 1.1; Charolais, 283.2 +/- 1.5; and Simmental, 285.4 +/- 1.2 d. For hormone-treated cows, 80% of the calves were born between 30 and 46 h after the hormone injections; overall mean was 37.6 +/- 1.1 h. Calving response did not differ (P >0.1) between cows treated with prostaglandin F(2alpha) versus fenprostalene (36.5 +/- 1.6 vs 38.6 +/- 1.6 h) or among cow age, day of gestation, or breed. Also, duration of labor, calving difficulty and calf viability did not differ between calves born at an induced or spontaneous parturition. The incidence of placenta retained for >24 h was higher for induced than spontaneous parturition (21.0 vs 0.0%), but it did not differ (P >0.1) between cows treated with prostaglandin F(2alpha) or fenprostalene (19.2 vs 22.6%). An acceptable degree of synchrony of parturition was attained by the administration of prostaglandin F(2alpha) or fenprostalene in combination with dexamethasone. The higher incidence of retained placenta in treated than control cows did not affect subsequent fertility. The longer biological half-life for fenprostalene than for prostaglandin F(2alpha) provided no improvement in increasing synchrony of parturition or decreasing frequency of retained placenta.